Matar (Migration)

This matter concerned an appeal by a visa holder against the Minister's decision to cancel his Subclass 600 (Visitor) visa. The cancellation was based on allegations of the visa holder providing incorrect information in his application, specifically failing to disclose multiple previous visa refusals. The applicant contended that he relied on a travel agent to complete the application due to his limited English skills and that the breach was not significant.

The primary legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the visa holder had failed to comply with the requirements of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) by providing incorrect information, and if so, whether the visa should be cancelled. The Tribunal was required to consider the validity of the notice issued under section 107 of the Act and the substance of the alleged non-compliance.

The Tribunal found that while the applicant had indeed provided incorrect information regarding his visa history, this was due to his reliance on a travel agent and his limited English proficiency. The Tribunal accepted that the applicant had no knowledge of the incorrect information and no reason to suspect its inaccuracy, given his prior grant of a Visitor visa. The Tribunal also noted that the applicant had been granted a previous Visitor visa despite his migration history, inferring that the Department was aware of these refusals at that earlier stage. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that the breach was not significant enough to warrant cancellation.

The Tribunal set aside the decision under review and substituted a decision not to cancel the applicant’s Subclass 600 (Visitor) visa.